Rob Goodall dons
some bright green
gloves to get this
icepick done somewhere in Kippax.

Surviving Winter
Words and Photographs: Thomas Halliwell

W

inter can be a difficult
time even for the best
of us. This little island
we call home is somewhat notorious for the terrible weather and
yet, despite that reputation, it still
seems everything grinds to a halt
once even the slightest bit of poor
weather kicks in. You would have
thought we would have come
up with some way of managing
this at some point throughout the
years but no, still we have public transport effectively shutting
down, houses and towns flooding

and a whole host of other annoyances, all because we (as a
country) can’t handle a bit of cold,
wet or snow. C’est la vie, as the
French would say.
Now, alongside the hassle and
annoyances of trying to find alternate ways of getting to school,
university or work, what about
those of us who want to get out
and ride our bikes? Summer has
just finished, that awesome time
of year where they let the kids
run wild for almost two months,

essentially banning you from your
own public skatepark. That aside
you might have had a couple of
decent rides but now the clocks
have changed, it’s dark when you
wake up and it’s dark when you
get home. Things aren’t looking
good, what can you do now? How
is it that this country can make
something as simple as riding a
little bike as difficult as it does?
Well, luckily there are a few options out there that can help keep
you sane throughout those cold
few months.

Man Up
One option we have for the more brave
and dedicated amongst you is to simply
man up. Buy yourself a bigger coat, wear
an extra pair of socks and gloves and go
out anyway. This option can be difficult
and it only really works against the cold,
riding in the wet or snow is never too
brilliant an idea. Those who have the time
or knowledge could look at the option
of creating a “dry spot”, old abandoned
warehouses are great for this, but you
didn’t hear it here. Get together with a
few friends and you’ll be surprised how
quickly you could have a few ramps built
in a convenient location to get away from
the weather. Just remember not to tell
that one guy, that one guy who will invite
everyone you don’t want inviting resulting in your spot being shut down much
before its time. Everyone hates that guy.
Indoor Parks
Indoor parks are another option for those
of us who absolutely have to ride with the
current surge of new parks being built
it’s not like you’re short of a few options.
Here in Leeds we have the Works Skatepark, with new parks in Doncaster, Sheffield and Halifax just short train journeys
away. Ah, you say, this brings us back to
the public transport situation. Up there
with spiders is another one of my least
favourite things; getting stranded at some
unfamiliar train station in the cold, wet or
snow with no idea if another train is going
to show up. Your phone battery is usually
dead at this point too because once upon
a time sod made a law. On top of all this,
in case you’ve somehow forgotten, those
scooter kids you had the pain of dealing
with all Summer are at these parks, enclosed in 4 walls and hyped up on energy
drinks. They’ve also multiplied, tenfold.
To be fair a lot of the parks do run BMX
only nights and I’m sure many people
greatly appreciate this. It stops a lot of
the unfounded rivalry between different
groups of people and all the ignorance
that comes along with it. A lot of the time
this might suffice. The major downfall
of these parks is, of course, the price.
Having to spend close to £15, including
travel and membership costs, every time
you want to ride your bike for a couple of
hours just doesn’t quite seem realistic.
Some people are fine with that but we
would much rather see the local pub get
that money. To each his own and all that.
Alternate Hobbies
Something you may wish to consider is
looking into alternate hobbies. If there
is simply no way you can make BMX a
viable option for the cold half of the year
then you’ll probably have to. Things that
induce similar adrenaline levels would be

Danny Clayton,
opposite lookback
at the Works
Skatepark, Leeds

“Buy yourself a bigger
coat, wear an extra pair
of socks and gloves
and go out anyway.”
a good place to start, snowboarding or
skiing would be ideal. Unfortunately us
Brits usually get maybe one day of snow
before it is rained away so you can’t
always rely on such a thing. Indoor hobbies such as learning to play the guitar
are also a good way of wiling away your
time, it also has easily measurable levels
of progress that you really can see. The
more work you put in the better you get.
There has to be something out there that
you like doing just as much as BMX, it’s
just a case of finding it. This can seem a
little hard once you’ve gotten a bit older
but you’re never too old to try.

Go Down to the Pub
If all else fails, you’ve literally given up
all hope of ever taking your little bike
outside again, those nice folk who work
at the pub at the end of your street will
always welcome you in with open arms.
Perhaps not the best choice but easily
one of my favourites. A couple of pints
and a nice dinner and you’ll soon forget
all about that bike you wanted to ride
earlier. It’ll still be there waiting for you
when the weather gets better, don’t you
worry about that.
So there we have it. A few nice ways of
keeping yourself busy throughout those
dark months. You could listen to any of
those or you could do like everyone else
in those seasons and eat everything
possible. Either way it’s not so bad, who
knows maybe next year will be better!